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Your first paragraph is sort of what I expected. I'm not sure how the Bank thing fits today, but slavery is gone, the appointment of postmasters and military c
by mcswell 2y ago
Your first paragraph is sort of what I expected. I'm not sure how the Bank thing fits today, but slavery is gone, the appointment of postmasters and military commanders is seldom an issue (once you get past a certain obstructionist senator who didn't want anyone appointed), we're no longer defending the western frontier against the Indians, the Ohio valley is maybe de-populating itself (rust belt), relations with the Brits are good and reasonably good with Spain and France, no war with the British, Louisiana has been American for going on two centuries, no more border disputes with the Brits or Spain (nor with Canada or Mexico). I guess appointing justices is still an issue, and certainly the balance of power between the states and the feds is an issue. But most--not all--of the national issues that the US faced back then seem to have gone away or are at least greatly diminished.
Thanks for the pointer to that podcast!
- SllX 2y agoOne correction I want to make on the point of slavery: slavery as practiced in the antebellum South through the end of the Civil War is gone. Slavery is very much an alive and active albeit illegal in most parts of the world trade, and the global slave trade today is larger than the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was at its peak. The United States is still very active in combatting slavery and the slave trade, usually under the polite euphemism of “human trafficking”. Appointing Justices is far more of an issue now than it ever was back then where it was a rather inglorious business-as-usual position. It had become more important even before then, but it really became an issue in the popular-consciousness after Roe v. Wade and every single confirmation process between Roe and Dobbs was mired in it. We’ve had only one confirmation since then, so I guess it is too soon to say whether how much it will continue to affect the confirmation hearings. I also forgot to mention the Barbary Wars, and I actually just watched a video about it yesterday from The Fat Electrician: https://youtu.be/lcJhmm3D3OY https://youtu.be/lcJhmm3D3OY